Step Up Vs OnlineMedEd

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

xClashx

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2013
Messages
226
Reaction score
159
I am currently debating between Onlinemeded vs Step up for my IM shelf. My IM rotation is only 1 month so I need a quick resource. Which one would you guys recommend. Is there another resource that is quicker to get through in essentially like 3 weekends?

I will be using Uworld also.

Members don't see this ad.
 
I am currently debating between Onlinemeded vs Step up for my IM shelf. My IM rotation is only 1 month so I need a quick resource. Which one would you guys recommend. Is there another resource that is quicker to get through in essentially like 3 weekends?

I will be using Uworld also.

I wouldn't have listened to this when I was starting IM but I really hope you choose OME. Start right away, it's not comprehensive but you won't score well because you know the entire Ranson Criteria, but rather because you understand what test to order and why. I'm sure SUTM has all the information in there but it does not synthesize information at all and is kind of like First Aid. If you read SUTM, when they ask you what is the next step for management for suspected pancreatitis buzzwords like Lipasex3, Ransons, etc. buzzwords will pop in your head but with OME you'll know exactly what test is the test answer and why. You need something to teach you. I would pay $9.99 for a month or 99.99 for unlimited 3 month, print all the IM notes one-sided and put them in a binder.

Read the notes first, then watch the videos. On the back of the notes, write UWorld notes for that lecture. You won't really review it much but it'll be there and try to refer to the uworld notes once in a while.
 
Last edited:
Members don't see this ad :)
Step up is a lot more comprehensive, but for a one month rotation it's too dense to get through while performing all your clinical duties well Imo. OME will at least give a decent foundation and cover the high-yield stuff for the shelf.

It's kosher for a med school to only have a 4 week medicine rotation? I'd do OME probably

I also had a one month IM rotation. I don't think it's common, but some schools have tracks which substitute a month of IM for a month of something else in that track.
 
OME + SUTM for key topics (cardio, pulm, renal, ambulatory). SUTM is great but gets a lot of hate on this forum. I think it has more to do with learning style-- Pathoma fans like OME and the Goljan fans like SUTM
 
OME + SUTM for key topics (cardio, pulm, renal, ambulatory). SUTM is great but gets a lot of hate on this forum. I think it has more to do with learning style-- Pathoma fans like OME and the Goljan fans like SUTM

Do you think adequately studying all of SUTM is reasonable in a 1 month period though? Genuinely curious as I didn't use SUTM because I was told by many it was too dense to get through in a month unless you have a lot of downtime on the rotation.
 
Do you think adequately studying all of SUTM is reasonable in a 1 month period though? Genuinely curious as I didn't use SUTM because I was told by many it was too dense to get through in a month unless you have a lot of downtime on the rotation.
It depends on how big your cojones are.

I did Ambulatory Medicine and Dermatology before my IM block, but I was able to make one pass and make anki cards for all of my highlights in <4 weeks. I was only able to do this because I actively read during any downtime in clinic/in the hospital. If you're doing a typical wards month you'll have a lot of downtime, but most people don't use it wisely at all.

I would NOT have been able to read SUTM in 8 weeks if I only read it in the evening after work or only on the weekends. I just don't have that sort of willpower.
 
It depends on how big your cojones are.

I did Ambulatory Medicine and Dermatology before my IM block, but I was able to make one pass and make anki cards for all of my highlights in <4 weeks. I was only able to do this because I actively read during any downtime in clinic/in the hospital. If you're doing a typical wards month you'll have a lot of downtime, but most people don't use it wisely at all.

I would NOT have been able to read SUTM in 8 weeks if I only read it in the evening after work or only on the weekends. I just don't have that sort of willpower.

Gotcha. I was just curious because I had little to no downtime while I was at the hospital during my IM rotation, so other than doing some questions during the 5-10 minutes I'd get here and there, there was no way I could have sat down and gotten through more than a page or so at a time.
 
It's kosher for a med school to only have a 4 week medicine rotation? I'd do OME probably

Yup, and it sucks. My school had 4 weeks for IM and surgery. And honors was based on shelf percentile, so you were up against everyone else who may have had 6-8 weeks. Such is life.
 
Gotcha. I was just curious because I had little to no downtime while I was at the hospital during my IM rotation, so other than doing some questions during the 5-10 minutes I'd get here and there, there was no way I could have sat down and gotten through more than a page or so at a time.
So I should re-phrase. Rarely will you have 20 minutes to just sit and chill and crack a book. However, if you're not pre-rounding/rounding/charting/consults/phone, that's downtime. Carrying a few pages of something in my pocket and finding spare minutes in the day to read was my secret to 3rd year. I learned more, I had better assessments+plans, and I did better on shelves.

The further you go in medicine, the more you're expected to know with shorter amounts of free time. There will never be an opportune time to read SUTM-- but you still have to know what's inside.
 
So I should re-phrase. Rarely will you have 20 minutes to just sit and chill and crack a book. However, if you're not pre-rounding/rounding/charting/consults/phone, that's downtime. Carrying a few pages of something in my pocket and finding spare minutes in the day to read was my secret to 3rd year. I learned more, I had better assessments+plans, and I did better on shelves.

The further you go in medicine, the more you're expected to know with shorter amounts of free time. There will never be an opportune time to read SUTM-- but you still have to know what's inside.

That last part is so important. While class and step 1 are important during clinical years, arguably it is equally important to develop strategies to learn more material in a shorter time. You often will be expected to learn something tonight and apply it tomorrow without getting multiple passes/making anki cards/doing UWorld like we did during preclinicals and dedicated.
 
So I should re-phrase. Rarely will you have 20 minutes to just sit and chill and crack a book. However, if you're not pre-rounding/rounding/charting/consults/phone, that's downtime. Carrying a few pages of something in my pocket and finding spare minutes in the day to read was my secret to 3rd year. I learned more, I had better assessments+plans, and I did better on shelves.

The further you go in medicine, the more you're expected to know with shorter amounts of free time. There will never be an opportune time to read SUTM-- but you still have to know what's inside.

I agree with your sentiments, but I've found that attempting to use an actual textbook to do this to be a completely inefficient way of learning. Imo there are plenty of other resources available in which you don't have to try and squeeze in one page here and there throughout the day (UWorld, UpToDate/eMedicine, etc). Maybe that's just my learning style, but if I had tried to read an actual textbook with those minutes here and there, I'd probably only get through 10-12 pages a day. Using UWorld I'd get through a minimum 40 questions/day (which would easily cover 25 pages worth of info from a textbook) or get through numerous UpToDate articles.
 
Top